A Low-Cost, Stable, and Accurate Method for Electromagnetic Characterization of 3D Printing Filaments Using 3D-Printed Waveguides for Microwave Applications

We present a novel measurement approach to electromagnetic characterization of 3D printing filaments via Nicholson-Ross-Weir (NRW) method. In particular, we measure reflection and transmission coefficients of 3D-printed samples by placing them into 3D-printed sample holder waveguides and using a vector network analyzer. Then constitutive parameters are found by using these coefficients. NRW method produces inaccurate results when sample thicknesses are greater than half of the guided wavelength. In addition, measured dielectric and magnetic loss values are highly sensitive to phase data of reflection and transmission coefficients. We show that stable and accurate results can be obtained via 3D-printed sample holder waveguides with proper thicknesses.